How is Matcha Produced?
Not any tea leaf can be ground, turn into powder and be called Matcha. It has to go through a specific process. The process starts with a selection of good green tea varieties. Most Matcha is made from Yabukita varietal, the most popular in Japan, although very good quality of Matcha also comes from samidori or okumidori varietals. The area where the tea is grown has a fundamental importance. Good green tea growing prefectures in Japan will produce the best Matcha such as Kyoto, Shizuoka and Uji, although nowadays China produces a very good quality Matcha as well.
The Process
The really dark leaves, full of chlorophyll and theanine, are then picked and steamed for about 15-20 seconds to stop the oxidization process, just like it’s done with the other green teas. Then the leaves are dried. At this point the tea is called Aracha. Aracha is a mid-point of making Matcha.
The leaves of Aracha are then being deveined. The central stem and all the veins are removed out of the leaf. The deveined leaves go through drying process again, and at this point the tea is called Tencha.
A tea master takes the Tencha from different plantations and taste them to get a flavor of the different qualities of the Tencha. The tea master will make a blend of Tencha to get the right flavor profile for the Matcha they would like to produce. Once the blending process is finished, the Tencha is ground into Matcha using round stone mills, until micro fined Matcha powder is produced. It needs to be micro fined under 10 microns and the process of the stone grinding needs to be at low temperature to make sure not to denature the nutrients and not to affect the color, the taste and the flavor of Matcha. The grinding process is very slow as it takes about an hour to make 30 g of Matcha.
Health Benefits
1. Rich in Antioxidants
(Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity is a value that indicates the antioxidant power of a food).
Comparison between Matcha Green Tea and other antioxidant-rich foods (on a per gram basis)
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Lipophilic and Hydrophilic Antioxidant Capacities of Common Foods in the United States
2. Rich in EGCG
The most important polyphenol in Matcha is Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is the subject of many medical studies (1, 2). Matcha contains a much higher concentration of EGCG per serving than a steeped green tea does.
1 cup of regular green tea: 20 to 35 mg EGCG
1 serving of matcha: 120 g EGCG
Health promoting benefits of EGCG:
• antioxidant – preventing oxidative damage in healthy cells
• antiangiogenic – preventing tumors from developing
• antibacterial, antiviral and anti-infective
• antifungal activity against human-pathogenic yeasts like Candida albicans
3. Increases energy, reduces stress and induces a calm, wakeful alertness
Matcha contains high levels of l-theanine, an amino acid that is associated with a relaxed and peaceful state of mind, along with enhanced mental clarity and focus. Research has shown that l-theanine induces alpha brain-wave activity, which is also observed during meditation. In fact, Matcha used to be immensely cherished by Zen Buddhist monks as it assisted them in meditation. The l-theanine content of Matcha is 5 times greater than that of steeped green tea, making it a great choice for an afternoon energy boost or as a natural stress reliever.
Our Mainichi Matcha is a Japanese ceremonial grade matcha perfect for daily use in tea, smoothies and baking.